Rochester Regional Health (RRH) announced that Renee Demski, executive vice president of quality, patient safety and performance excellence, and Lori Paine, vice president and patient safety officer have both been named to the 2025 list of “Patient Safety Experts to Know” by Becker’s Healthcare, a leading source of healthcare industry news.
Becker’s created the list to honor patient safety experts who are reducing patient harm and strengthening disease management. The individuals featured are recognized for their instrumental work in reducing hospital-acquired infections, preventing adverse events, and ensuring strict regulatory compliance related to safety standards.
Demski oversees the Quality and Safety Institute at RRH and leads the organization’s focus on eliminating preventable harms, improving patient outcomes and experience and improving operational efficiency.
Under her leadership, the hospital-acquired infection rate has dropped by more than 40%.
Paine, who holds a Doctor of Public Health degree, leads strategic and tactical patient safety initiatives for RRH. In addition to her leadership role, she teaches at the Johns Hopkins School of Public Health and advises patient safety professionals on strategic planning, human factors and safety culture improvement.
She regularly publishes scholarly articles, contributes to healthcare policy and has served on expert panels for the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality and the National Quality Forum.
“It is an honor to be recognized among colleagues across the country who share the same mission,” said Paine.
“Patient safety is about more than preventing harm—it’s about creating safe systems that put patients at the center and enable our healthcare teams to reliably deliver on our mission.”